Belmont bidder pulls proposal

Syosset-based Blumenfeld Development Group withdrew its bid to develop property at Belmont Park, leaving just two bidders remaining.

The withdrawal leaves the New York Islanders and the NYCFC soccer club as the only bidders now contending to develop up to 43 acres at the race track.

The BDG plan for the Belmont site called for a mix of retail, family entertainment/ “edutainment,” eSports, community amenities and hospitality opportunities, according to a company statement. The company said its plan that would have “complemented the surrounding neighborhoods while generating tax revenue, job creation and overall economic growth.”

BDG cited a series of “extraordinary requirements, preconditions and reviews” that would appear to create a selection process that has been pre-determined. Real estate industry observers have said the state’s latest request for proposals seems to have been tailor made to accommodate an arena for the Islanders. BDG had been one of four respondents to the state’s prior RFP that was issued in 2012 and abruptly cancelled in 2016.

ESD issued its new RFP in July for the redevelopment of up to 43 acres of the horse racing complex’s parking lots. The targeted property includes 28 acres of parking lot south of Hempstead Turnpike and another 15 acres on the north side.

“Collectively, the development community has already spent well over a million dollars in submitting previous proposals that addressed the myriad specifications of the state’s economic development agency,” Ed Blumenfeld, BDG president, said in the statement. “Now, unusual and rather aggressive financial terms and conditions dictate to us that pursuing this opportunity further is not an effective use of BDG resources.”

Officials at Empire State Development, which is conducting the RFP and its selection process, won’t say what’s in each of the remaining proposals or when it might choose a winning bid.

The ESD has suggested that any proposal for the property “provide a source of quality jobs for area” and “benefit the neighborhoods and communities adjacent to and surrounding” the existing Belmont complex.

“We wish the state, the community and the ultimate winner of this RFP the very best of luck in pursuing the next chapter of Belmont,” Blumenfeld said. “It is time that BDG moved on to other projects.”